This invention relates to a refrigerator having an ice maker wherein an amount of water supplied from a water tank to a measuring vessel is further supplied to an ice tray by a pump and the water in the tray is made into ice.
A predetermined amount of water is supplied to an ice tray in conventional refrigerators provided with an automatic ice making function. In one of arrangements for such an ice making function, a water reservoir is supplied with water from a sealed water tank through a water outlet thereof by the effect of a difference between water heads. With decrease in the water level in the water reservoir, the water supply to the reservoir is automatically performed so that the water is maintained at a selected level in the water reservoir, which level corresponds approximately to the position of the water outlet of the water tank. Behind the water reservoir is provided a measuring vessel into which water flows through a slit so that the water level in the water reservoir is maintained at that in the measuring vessel. An amount of water reserved in the measuring vessel is maintained at a predetermined value by previously setting dimensions of the vessel. A pump is operated to feed the water reserved in the measuring vessel to an ice tray. The pump is stopped when it begins to suck air because of decrease in the water level, so that the amount of water fed into the ice tray is fixed at a predetermined amount. Since a small amount of water is automatically supplied to the measuring vessel through the slit even during the operation of the pump, that amount of water is taken into consideration in determining the size of the measuring vessel.
In accordance with the above-described arrangement, the water level in the water reservoir is unchanged when the water reservoir and the measuring vessel are inclined rearward after assembly or when the refrigerator is arranged in an inclined state even if the water reservoir and the measuring vessel are properly assembled, but the water level in the measuring vessel positioned behind the water reservoir exceeds the predetermined level. As a result, an excessive amount of water is supplied to ice tray and the water level in the ice tray exceeds partition walls disposed in the ice tray so that a number of ice cubes are provided. When the ice is made in the ice tray over-fed with the water, a plate-like ice is made at the upper portions of the partition walls, which ice is difficult to be removed from the walls. When such an ice is removed from the ice tray, the ice cubes become uneven in size and a part of the ice is not removed from the ice tray to be left therein.